


Missy

by N8schatten



Series: The Godfather [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Fluff and Angst, Missy is the vine aunt, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29333691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N8schatten/pseuds/N8schatten
Summary: „Bill?“ River whispered and shifted. The springs of the couch cracked and Bill realized what had woken her.„Someone is in the house.” Bill muttered and John sat up with one swift movement.In which Bill meets Missy.
Relationships: Bill Potts & River Song, Missy & Bill Potts, Twelfth Doctor & Bill Potts, Twelfth Doctor/Missy/River Song
Series: The Godfather [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076084
Comments: 11
Kudos: 19





	Missy

**Author's Note:**

> I've been sitting on this idea for weeks now and I'm so happy that this is finally out.  
> I like to say that the angst wasn't planned and this was meant to be pure fluff, but it more the other way around.

Bill woke with a start and for a moment she wasn’t sure where she was. It wasn’t really dark, but there wasn’t much light either. It was warm, but not too warm at the same time. 

But that wasn’t it. Everything around her was fine. It was just right. She couldn’t smell smoke, she couldn’t see any flashes out of the corner of her eye, but at the same time there was something. It was just out of reach. Like the little things of her past that never really resurfaced until River or John said or did something very specific. 

A moment later River sat up next to her and Bill suddenly remembered where they were. They were in Johns attic office. Where they had fallen asleep on the large sofa, while watching some more of the videos River and John had off Bill's mum. The telly had either been turned off by River or John or it had turned itself off. The fact was, Bill couldn’t remember it, so she had fallen asleep before it happened.

River was right next to Bill. Her shoulder was brushing Bills and so did her feet beneath the blanket that covered them all. Even though River was breathing normally she was too tense. It was radiating from her and Bill knew she was only seconds away from grabbing the knife that was in the little table left from River.

John on Rivers' other side was still laying down, but he was too still to be actually asleep. Bill had seen him asleep often enough to know that he was moving a lot in his sleep and he also was never quiet. He was always muttering or humming our outright talking in his sleep. River had told her after the first time Bill witnessed it, that if she ever wanted to know something from John all she had to do was to wait until he was asleep and then ask him. He would answer her without hesitation. So him just laying completely still, meant he was just as awake as Bill and River. Waiting for either of them to say something, that would allow them to go back to sleep or get out of bed immediately. 

„Bill?“ River whispered and shifted. The springs of the couch cracked and Bill realized what had woken her.

„Someone is in the house.” Bill muttered and John sat up with one swift movement.

“How do you know?” He asked, just as River pulled the blanket to the side and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. 

“I heard the pans.” Bill whispered. It was impossible to get one of the many pans John and River owned without making some kind of noise. It was something that frustrated Bill to no end, because even after all those years she hated the noise of pans banging on pans. It didn’t trigger her any longer, because Moira had insisted on a therapist after finding out that the banging of pans had been one of the ways Saxon had woken them everyday. Still Bill hated it and would always wake up to the noise.

Most of the time she would just go back to sleep or dozing, because it would be either River or John working in the kitchen, but right now, both of them were right next to her.

“Hey!” Bill snapped around to River who wasn’t holding the small knife Bill had seen in the drawer, but something that in Bill's mind was a dagger.

“Billy” River whispered again and this time Bill forced herself to actually listen to her grandmother. “John and I are going down, do you want to wait up here or come with us.” Bill didn’t answer, but instead fought with the blankets until John helped her pull it away. 

“Ok,” There was a bit of humour in River’s voice. “We’re all going down.” John hissed something and the soft chuckle of River’s made Bill relax a bit. 

“I’ll go down first, John after me and Bill last.” River looked directly at Bill and even in the dim light of the attic Bill knew that River was levelling her with a murderous stare. “If I say, run up and lock yourself in, Bill, you will get back up here and lock yourself in and then you know where you will hide!”

Bill only nodded once. It had been one of the first things River and John had shown Bill once she had slept over at their place for the first time. There was a small door hidden behind a bookshelf that would lead through the whole house down to the room that held the door to River’s office. From there Bill could get through the TARDIS and out on the street to call for help or just to hide in River’s office. They had shown Bill several tricks to get down there fast and into River’s office even faster, just to be sure.

“I need you to promise me Bill.” River whispered into the darkness and Bill nodded again. “I promise.” She whispered and then John gently brushed his hand over Bill's arm to show her that he was passing her. 

“Let’s do…” Something downstairs crashed and Bill jumped. There was some cursing, and Bill felt John's hand wrapping around her arm. 

“Damn it can’t we get just a few months of peace, before we introduce Bill to the family?” River hissed and rushed to the door that led down to the first floor. The small staircase had two doors that both could be locked and they were moving it down slowly. Bill kept a hold of John's t-shirt the whole time, refusing to let go of him until it was necessary.

“Ok, I’m opening the door.” River whispered and cracked the door open a bit. Bright light flooded the dark staircase and Bill screwed her eyes shut. She heard John curse lightly. Only River didn't react at all, but Bill had learned that there was almost nothing that could faze River Song.

Once her eyes had adjusted to the light Bill nodded to River who was looking up at her. River gently opened the door wider until there was a gap just wide enough to let them all through. 

With them on the first floor the sounds from the ground floor suddenly got much clearer. There was the banging of pans again. Cupboard doors opening and closing and some muttering.

“Please tell me that isn’t my mother.” John muttered and a bit of tension left them all. River tried to glare at John, but she was grinnin to. John raised his hands in defeat anyway. They crept slowly to the stairs leading down. With River looking into every room, just to be sure and John keeping an eye on the staircase itself. 

They were half way down the second flight of stairs when the humming started. As far as Bill could tell it was a sweet little melody that was familiar. In the way of old songs you once heard on the radio and wanted to know the name of, but never really looked up.

The strange thing was that the moment the humming started, both John and River relaxed immediately. John let out a little huff of startled amusement. While River turned back around to glare at him. 

“I thought you told her to text before she comes into our house!” She hissed, but John just shrugged. “I mean technically it’s her house too.” River glared harder, but John only kissed her cheek and then moved past her down the stairs. His steps had some skip that Bill never had seen before. She barely managed to uncurl her finger from his t-shirt, before he pulled her down with him.

River muttered something else, that sounded rude enough for Bill to be interested, but she put the dagger down. Well she didn’t point in the air any longer, she didn’t put it away. Instead River paused in the doorway to the kitchen for a moment, the knife peaking over her shoulder like some strange and dangerous accessory. Bill was still frozen on the stairs for a moment longer before she followed her grandparents. 

In the kitchen right in front of the stove was a woman. A strangely familiar woman with dark hair and a long, violet skirt. John was leaning against the cupboard right next to the stove, grinning at her. Their banter got drowned by the fizzling of the eggs in the pan. What most certainly didn’t get drowned out was the woman turning her head to John, most likely to say something and John leaning down to kiss her. Full on kissing her. Bill watched with some mix of horror and anger how the woman let go of the pan to wrap her arms around John's neck. John grabbed her hips and pulled the woman closer. Bill just continued staring at the two of them with an open mouth, completely forgetting that River was right next to her with a dagger.

“Really, you two,” River’s amused voice startled Bill into taking two steps back. It took her a moment to realise that there wasn’t any anger in River’s voice. Just amusement and something else.

“Don’t let the breakfast burn.” River scolded gently and pushed herself away from the doorway. Bill expected a lot, mostly the use of the dagger, but not the fact that John looked up from where he stood still holding the other woman close to him and grinned at River.

“Jealous?” He asked grinning and Bill thought that the man really was mad. 

“Only if I don’t get a proper hello, too.” River said and put the dagger on the counter, just on the other side of the stove. 

“We were about to use that on you, you know.” River said as she took over the pan. “I’m pretty sure we agreed on you texting us, before you arrive.” The other woman turned just enough to look at River and the dagger, before she scoffed.

“That small dagger?” She pulled away from John to push River away from the pans. “Really, River I thought I was worth more.” The pure boredom in the woman’s voice made Bill's jaw hang open. River only laughed, full belly laughter.

“We thought it just was a burglar and you know how easily they are scared off.” River explained after a moment and John hummed in agreement. “We didn’t really expect someone dangerous.” He said while opening a cupboard and pulling out plates. “Wrong time of year.” 

Both River and the woman turned around to glare at him and John only grinned back at them. “You both know that it’s true, nobody wants to kill any of us until the whole Christmas madness starts.”

“I really hate to agree with him, what about you, dear?” The woman asked and there was just a hint of humour in her dry voice. River hummed. 

“I could agree with you if I get a proper greeting!” River said and picked the dagger back up. The woman turned her head to stare at the thing and Bill blushed. There was something going on that she really, REALLY didn’t need to know.

“Maybe I can think of something, if you ask nicely.” She hummed and Bill could see the grin on River’s lips. 

Bill didn’t hear what River said, but at the same time she was really grateful for it. There were things she really didn’t need to know. Still seeing the woman surging forwards, pulling River’s face in her hands and kissing her, was not what Bill had imagined as a proper Hello.

Neither was the absolute calm with which John reached around them and pulled the dagger from Rivers' fingers just before her hands curled into the white blouse of the woman. Or him just turning off the stove and picking up the pan. 

Bill just stood in the doorway and stared at her grandmother, kissing the other woman. It was strangely hypnotic and horrifying in the same way. In the same way that a car crash made it impossible to look away. 

The same part of Bills brain that just her pure lesbian energy totally went  _ YES! _ but Bill very determinately pushed that part down, at least until the other woman pushed River against the counter. Then Bill's brain said goodbye and stopped working. 

After an indeterminate amount of time they stopped and Bill's brain got back working just enough for her to understand what they were saying.

“Hello Song” The woman whispered and River stole another kiss with a grin. “So we’re back to last names, are we Masters?” River muttered back, but her hands squeezed the other woman’s waste. “You know I like it when you call me that.” 

THAT was the kind of flirting that made Bill want to find bleach.

“Stop it you two.” John called from where he was setting the table. “You’re scaring the kid!” 

The other woman’s head snapped to him. 

“The  _ Kid? _ ” She asked sharply. “ _ What KID?!” _ River burst into laughter. Her head slumped onto the other woman’s shoulder and she laughed until she didn’t even make a sound. If it wasn’t for the shaking of her shoulders, Bill would have thought River had stopped.

John rolled his eyes. “Honestly Missy,” he said, but there was a grin on his face. “For someone, who claims that nobody can sneak up on them you’re really bad at this.”

“I’m  _ never _ letting you live  _ that one _ down!” River wheezed and Missy glared at her for a short moment, but glanced back up to John.

“John Smith, w _ hat kid?”  _ She screeched and John only nodded very meaningful at Bill.

The moment the woman’s head snapped around Bill realised the name of the woman. Missy Masters.

She had heard that one before, in connection with her mother. Sharp blue eyes meet Bills and for a moment time stopped.

The pictures of a video she had seen a long time ago rushed back to Bill's mind. Her mother laughing. Two women dashing through a lab like mad women. An explosion and colour changing foam on the ceiling.

“Missy.” Bill whispered and suddenly she realised WHO that woman in front of her was. 

“Mels?” 

Something clattered to the ground and Bill jumped. John had turned very pale. River had grabbed onto the counter. Her knuckles stark white, just as her face.

The romantic and happy atmosphere changed abruptly, replace by screaming silence and pain. 

_ Mels _

Missy thought she was her mother. Bill took a shaking breath and time started again. Missy stumbled two steps closer to Bill. River, still white, reached out and tried her best to grab for Missy, but her grip seemed to slide off on Missy’s arm. John had thrown the rest of the cutlery on the table and was running around the table.

“I’m Bill.” Bill whispered and Missy jerked back, like Bill just had slapped her. 

“No…” Missy shook her head. Her eyes far away, lost and broken. “No Bill is dead…I…Mel’s is dead too. I saw…”

John grabbed onto Missy, just as her knees buckled and she sacked to the ground. “Missy,” John whispered and put his arms around the woman. Her eyes were still locked with Bills.

“This is Bill.” Missy shook her head again, more insistently. Like a child that didn’t want to hear something. 

“No, Bill is dead, I…Mels is dead too…” 

“Bill never died. She survived, but they never…” 

“NO!” Missy screeched and it was like a wip and Bill recoiled. The blue eyes were still locked with her’s, but now they were cold and burning at the same time. 

“I saw her, I saw Bill, I…” River appeared before Bill. Out of nothing she just stood before Bill, grabbing her and pulling her through the kitchen into the living room. Bill craned her neck and twisted to see Missy, but River pulled her to the picture wall and sat them down, so neither of them could see the kitchen in any way.

“Breathe! Please Bill, breathe!” 

Only then Bill realised that she hadn’t been breathing. She gasped and wheezed trying to breathe, but the air just didn’t want to get to her lungs. Rivers hands were rubbing her back and kept Bill's head up.

“Breathe Bill.” River whispered again, but her voice was shaking. Her hands were too and when Bill grabbed onto River’s shirt she realised that River was shaking. Head to toe shaking.

“What did we do?” River’s voice was only a whisper, but it was enough for Bill to shake herself out of her stupor and focus on her grandmother.

“River?” 

River’s eyes were fixed on the wall, but Bill had the feeling she was seeing something completely different.

“What did we do?” River whispered again. 

“River…” Bill whispered and scooted a bit away from her. She had never seen River like this. John had episodes that made her stop and stare, because he looked so broken, but River never before had been like this.

“Why would you…” River’s green eyes locked onto Bill and there were tears in them. 

“Missy was the one who was with you when Mel’s died.” 

That…

Bill closed her eyes for a moment. All she could think about was the article she had seen in the video so long ago. She hadn’t read it. She had refused to read about her mothers death, so this little detail made everything shift a bit more.

“She…” Bill mumbled and River grabbed Bill's hand. Bill wasn’t sure if River did it to soothe her or if she had to anchor herself in reality.

“She looked after you that night, because Melody had a bad feeling. She knew something was wrong, so she got Missy to look after you while she went out and got the last things she needed before she would start teaching. The Police tried calling us first, because we were Mels closest family, but when they couldn’t get a hold of us, they called Missy.”

The room was silent. Maybe it was because Bill tried to realise what River was saying, but it was airly silent. 

“Missy had to identify Mels, while she was watching you.” River hesitated and looked back to Bill. “And then the social service came to get you from her.” River’s hand tightened around Bills until it hurt. 

“Why?” Bill whispered and the grip got even tighter. When River looked back to her there was so much rage in her eyes. The warm green eyes that Bill was used too had turned into what she imagined many people would call stone cold. Pure rage and hatred stared back at Bill.

“They said Missy couldn’t be trusted with a child, because…” River passed again and now Bill felt nails dig into her skin. River’s voice, when she finally spoke was harsh and on the verge of breaking, but the venom in it seemed to carry River through it.

“She wasn’t mentally stable enough.” 

Bill just stared at River. “What do you mean?” She asked, but at the same time she thought she wasn’t really asking. Bill knew her hands were shaking, because Rivers' grip had loosened and now River was stroking her fingertips over Bill's palm. 

_ Not mentally stable… They never even made a comment on Saxons mental state. _ Bill thought bitterly and out of the corner of her eye she saw a blond man dancing through the living room. In the next moment a bottle of whiskey flew through the air.

“Because her parents sent her to a hospital, when she was fourteen.” River’s voice snapped Bill out of her thoughts just before the bottle hit.

“They…Missy is from an old family up in Scotland. They had certain ideas about a perfect daughter.” River growled. “Playing with the neighbour's son wasn’t what they wanted. So when Missy started to rebel against them, they put Missy into a hospital just after John and his family left Scotland.” River turned her head away. 

“I don’t know what happened to Missy, neither she or John ever talked about it, but it was bad. SO bad that John got a phone call one night with Missy pleading to save her.” 

There were tears in River’s eyes. “It’s just…they did this to all the people in our family, who could have taken you in. Missy, Idris, Jack, Vastra and Jenny, hell even my mother. They just looked at them and said no, because you don’t fit.” 

Bill laughed, hollow and angry. 

“But people like Saxon were?” River’s eyes had this strange pity that Bill couldn’t even be angry about, because it was a  _ knowing _ pity. River knew what it was to grow up with psychopaths. Only she had been there for years. So Bill just squeezed Rivers hand and tried to give her a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Missy…” River closed her eyes and a soft smile appeared on her face. “Missy is brilliant. Like John, she had this chaotic energy that is just right for her and…” River opened her eyes and smiled at Bill. There was so much love in her eyes.

“If she and John are in the right mood and in a room together. It’s like watching a train wreck, that is about to happen, only in the last possible moment something impossible happens and everything is fine. They are brilliant and when she’s in the city she and John will teach together. It’s always an event that happens in the gym, because it’s the only room big enough to hold all the people who want to watch them.” 

River let out a soft chuckle and her eyes cast down to Bill's hand. The smile turned into a frown, when she saw the small half moon marks on Bill's skin.

“Missy is an all or nothing person. Like she either loves or hates you. There is no in-between and she can change her mind on a whim. Like when John first started dating me she absolutely hated me.” River chuckled. 

“The dagger thing?” River glanced up at Bill and grinned. “Missy started it. She just showed up to one of my classes one day holding a knife to my throat and told me to keep away from John. That was before I became a Professor.” There was a full blown smile in Rivers' face and her eyes sparkled with happiness and mischief.

“I just disarmed her, slipped the knife in my boots and told her to next time bring a bigger one.” Bill blinked at River, just for a heart beat, before she grinned. “Did she ?” Bill asked and River laughed. “Oh yes she did. By the end of it she stole the two meters long sword Vastra owned and pointed it at me.” Happy tears rolled down River’s cheeks. “It was so ridiculous. Missy standing there with this impossibly long sword, barely able to hold it up to my throat.” River shook her head. “I asked her out that day. Best decision of my life.” She whispered. “John nearly had a heart attack at twenty nine.” 

River smiled for a moment longer, before her smile slipped. She was still brushing her thumb over the marks in Bill's skin. 

“Missy and Mels hit it off immediately. They just clicked and I think John was more worried about that than when I started dating his best friend. Love at first sight, but…different. Different from what we had. Mels and Missy they…they…” 

River glanced up and Bill for a moment frowning. “I can’t even describe it, but that experiment they did. The one from the video we gave to you after you came to our house the first time? That was the first time they met. Missy literally just saw Mels standing over the experiment I had put out for Missy and asked ‘ _ Wanna do it?’ _ Thick as thieves those two.”

River’s sad smile returned and she scooted over to hug Bill. “When Mels found out she was pregnant her first question was ‘Can I make Missy the godmother?’ She did ask, but Missy just said it was a bad idea. She kept insisting that she wasn’t a good idea. Until the moment Mels put you into her arms Missy kept saying she wasn’t good with children.” The look River gave Bill was so soft that Bill shuffled a bit in her seat.

“When she was finally holding you, we watched her melt. Literally melt. She fell in love with you and nothing we did was good enough in her mind. She drove us up the walls and at the same time we just adored her for it.”

“It broke her.” Bill whispered. “Hearing…” River just nodded.

“She left the day after we came home with the body. Just disappeared one day. Without a message. We…we thought it was the last time we would see her. The last words we ever said too, we thought. The last words we ever told would be that you are gone.”

Now it was River who was shaking. “We found her on a small island in Polynesia three years later. John and Missy screamed at each other for half an hour before they hugged.” River chuckled. “I just grabbed the first knife I saw and held it to her throat, promising I would use it if she did something like this ever again.” 

Bill only snorted at this and leaned her head against River's shoulder. “Did you…are you?” River just nodded. For a moment they just sat there in silence. Holding each other. Bill had her eyes closed and basked in the warmth of River and inhaled the smell of earth and violets. 

_ Missy _ , She thought.  _ My godmother _ . 

She stood up abruptly and River stared at her, confused. “Bill?” 

Bill didn’t answer instead she rounded the couch table, well away that River was right behind her. 

“Bill what are you…” 

They rounded the dinner table and River’s voice broke. John and Missy sat on the ground leaning against the stove. John was holding Missy against his chest, brushing through her hair and whispering something to her. He was rocking her softly from one side to the other. 

Missy herself was curled up into a ball between his outstretched legs. Bill couldn’t see her face because it was pointed away from her, but Bill saw the slight shaking. She could see the way Missy tried to crawl into John's frame, hide in his body. So desperate to get closer and closer. 

The sudden pain and longing in her chest made Bill stumble forward until she was on her knees in front of John. From here she could see Missy’s face again. It was screwed up in a tight and pained grimace. Bill had an idea what she was feeling.

“Bill.” River whispered, her voice desperate and there was a minuscule twitch from Missy. John met Bill's eyes. His eyebrows were drawn together, but Bill could see in his eyes that he was trusting her.

“Hey…” She whispered and watched Missy’s eyes open just a little bit. The grimace was still there. The pain and fear was visible in every fibre of Missy’s being, but she was listening.

“Hi,” Bill mumbled and changed her position until she was sitting crossed legged in front of them. She also scooted a bit closer until her knees were brushing against John's legs. 

Missy’s eyes opened a bit more and she turned her head just enough that Bill could meet her eye properly. River took a sharp breath and Bill could hear the shaking in her voice. Missy did too, because the shaking got more intense for a moment.

_ This is my godmother, _ Bill thought. She had another godparent. A godmother that was just as much close family as John. She had a godmother that probably was more of a grandmother than just an aunt.

The smile that slowly formed on Bill's face was real. It was pure happiness that she had family. A caring family that wanted her. She had known that for the last four months. She had known that River’s and Johns family would be delighted to meet her again, but at the same time it just seemed wrong. That there were people out there, who had wanted her once. People that were still grieving her. 

Bill smiled at Missy and watched how Missy turned her face more and more. Her eyes were just as incredibly blue as John and Bill smiled even wider. She wanted to make a joke. Make a remark that really River had good taste in people, But all she could do was smile at Missy and reach out a hand.

The woman blinked at it for a moment and Bill chuckled a weak little laugh. “Hi,” She said again. “I’m Bill.” 

Missy’s eyes snapped back up to hers and Bill raised her hand a bit more. “I’m Wilhelmina Potts.” Tears gathered in Missy’s eyes and Bill waited patiently until one of Missy’s hands slowly started to uncurl from John's t-shirt and wrapped around Bill's outstretched hand.

Her hand was still shaking and the grip was too tight. Like she had to grip on, to prove herself that this was real, not just a fantasy. But at the same time it was a gentle strong grip. An instinct that prevented Missy from hurting Bill.

Bill curled her other hand around Missy’s and smiled up at Missy. Tears formed in her eyes and Bill didn’t even try to hide them.

“I’ve been waiting to meet you Aunt Missy!”

***

Bill was dozing lightly. The scent of sleep was heavy in the room, but at the same time, Bill just couldn’t sleep. Every time just before sleep claimed Bill, soft fingers would brush through her hair or over her nose. They traced her forehead or eyes or the curve of her lips. Every now and then Bill would crack an eye open to see the wonder and hope shine in Missy’s eyes. Bill would smile then and just close her eyes again. She was safe here. 

Save in her grandparents bed, River in her back and John and Missy in front of them. She was safe, because she knew that right now everyone who dared to interrupt them would die a slow and horrible death and for once Bill wasn’t minding this detail. In fact she would prefer it over getting interrupted.

Every other time she opened her eyes she would meet John's wide smile and the twinkling of his eyes. She would stick out her tongue at him and watch the mirth in his smile and the way Missy’s eyes would get the same gleam. 

Most of the time though she was just laying there cuddled against River’s warm body beneath the enormous blue blanket with the star pattern, with her eyes closed. She enjoyed the soft touches. They were almost shy and Bill had an idea about the why. Touches always were the most reassuring thing for her. Just soft little touches that treasured Bill that she was alright here. She wasn’t always able to read the room, because she always waited for danger and was ready to duck out of it, but those little seemingly insignificant touches. They relaxed her. They made her happy and sleepy and just content where she was. At the same time though, she knew that not all the people would touch her kindly. That some people didn’t care for her. Missy seemed to get what Bill needed, what she tolerated.

There had been a moment of silence after Bill had said her last words and then Missy had pulled her in. Just a sudden harsh movement, that sent Bill flying against Missy’s body and therefore slammed them both against John. He had huffed and grumbled before he had laughed. Missy only had grabbed onto Bill and hugged her. She hadn’t said a word. She had just held Bill. John had wrapped his arms around them all and maybe they had another silent conversation over their eyes, but after a moment River had come up behind Bill and hugged them too. 

It had taken a bit of convincing from John until Missy had let go of Bill. 

Mostly.

She had refused to let go of Bill's hand. John had been the one who had scooped Missy up and had declared that the kitchen floor wasn’t the right place for this. River had made a joke, Bill's brain had refused to process and then they had walked up the stairs and into Johns and River’s bed room.

Bill had always wondered why their bed was so ridiculously big. It wasn’t even a queen sized bed. It was a full on king sized bed. It was ridiculous that the thing even fitted into the room, but somehow it worked and there was still a lot of space. Right now Bill got it. The bed wasn’t just for sleeping. This was the safe place for the family. This place was meant for more than just one couple. 

Bill imagined her mum, grumpy in the morning, the only reason why she was out of bed, because she had school, crawling into bed with John, River and Missy. For just five more minutes. She smiled and chuckled. She liked that idea. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” River whispered into Bill's hair and Bill shuffled. “I think I just figured out why this bed is so ridiculously big.” She muttered and for the first time Missy made a sound. 

She had been fairly silent ever since her break down. Right now she was snorting. Bill cracked her eyes open just enough to see two pairs of blue eyes twinkle at her.

River chuckled and then she started moving. Immediately John and Missy’s eye shot up to her.

“Oh shush!” River grumbled and Bill could hear the humour in her voice. “I just need to get something. I’m back in a second.” 

With that River slipped out of bed and out of the room a moment later. Bill shivered, because River’s warm body was gone and even under the blanket Bill shivered.

“Get over here Pottsy.” Bill jumped a bit and stared at Missy. The other woman’s voice was hoarse and sarcastic, but there was something genuine in her voice that made Bill shoot over until Missy was closing her arms around her.

“This is nice.” Bill muttered and nuzzled her face until she found a nice position. John's hand dropped over Bill's waist and she hummed in happiness. 

***

“Don’t you dare take a picture.” Missy’s voice was a soft growl and just enough to rip Bill out of the half sleep she had been in.

“Like you can stop me right now.” River retorted and Bill had the feeling there were several pictures taken, because she could feel the vibrations of a chest deep growl run through Missy’s body. River snickered.

“I hate you Song.” Missy said and Bill snorted. 

“No you don’t!” She whispered against Missy’s neck just as River mumbled the same. Missy let out a low grumble that made John snort out laughter, but nothing else happened. Behind Bill the bed dibbed and then River crawled over to them. She didn’t slip under the blanket like Bill had thought she would, but instead sat on top of it. 

“Get into bed, River.” John grumbled lowly and Bill could hear River’s eye roll. “I will but there is something we need to do first!” River said and Bill heard the bone deep sigh John let out. “And what is that?” He asked and there was a moment of silence. 

“We need to give Missy back what she left behind last time.” River said and her voice was gentle and very, very careful. 

The weight of John's hand disappeared from Bill's hip and she felt him shift. Cold air made her eyes snap open and she could see John sit up, staring at River. Missy had gone stiff. 

“River…” 

“We are a family again, John. I’m not budging on this. We are a family again and we are all healing in one way or the other and this,” River put emphasis on the word. She also shifted in bed like she was moving. “This is a step of it too.” Bill let go of Missy to sit up too. She wanted to know what was happening. 

River was holding a velvet box in one hand and a silver chain was dangling from the index finger of her other hand. On the silver chain was a pair of silver rings. They were nothing, but small silver bands with a stone each. One of them had a little bit wider silver band and a perfect sapphire. The other ring was thinner and there was an emerald instead of a sapphire.

“River…” John’s voice was shaking a bit and suddenly Bill realised  _ what _ those rings were. Wedding bands. Those were wedding bands. Bill's eyes snapped to the two rings River was wearing. She had never paid them much mind, but now…

Two simple silver bands, each with a single gem stone. One a bit wider with a blue sapphire and the other one thinner with a deep violet amethyst. 

Bill twisted until she could see John's hand. He was wearing two rings too. Both of the rings had an equally wide band. One with an amethyst and one with an emerald.

Bill scooted a bit further back, because right now she was in the middle of this and she wasn’t ready for this. Missy on the other hand was still laying huddled beneath the blanket and stared stoically at nothing. 

“Missy,” River mumbled and John sighed. “Please, darling,” River’s voice was soft and very careful. As if she was scared that she would scare Missy away. Bill watched how River threw the velvet box onto the nightstand and then laid down in front of Missy, looking her straight in the face. 

“I know what you’re thinking right now and I’m telling you you’re stupid.” River said with conviction. Bill glanced at John who was still sitting behind Missy. He was fighting a smile. For a short moment she met his eyes and she just knew that he tried desperately not to start grinning. He knew, who would win this argument. 

“I’ll buy you a sword.” River promises quietly and John choked on dry air. “No you don’t!” He protested and Bill saw Missy's smile. 

“How big?” River grinned back. “At least as tall as you, maybe two meters.” 

“No you don’t!” John cut in, they both ignored him.

“What kind of material?” Missy asked grinning, River looked like she was thinking about it, but Johns exasperated sigh told Bill that this was only to make him upset. Instead of saying something, John stood up.

“Metal.” River answered promptly. “And properly sharpened tool.” 

John had rounded the bed and slipped in bed behind River hugging her to him, while he rested his head on her shoulder.

“So…” He asked. “Are you taking your rings back?” Missy stayed silent, but River didn’t seem to care about it, instead she pulled the rings from the chain and put the chain itself onto one of the many pillows. One of the rings, the one with the sapphire she gave to John the one with the emerald she kept herself. 

Missy finally closed her eyes and held out her left hand. John was the first to put on his ring and River followed a second later. Surprisingly the rings clicked together and seemed to melt into another, like they were one ring. 

“Look at that.” River whispered and her voice was shaking. “The chaos trio is back in business.” John snorted and Missy only grinned at them both. 

“Can I have a pair of handcuffs with my sword?” The question came out in the most innocent tone Bill had heard so far and she needed a moment to realise the implication. John and River on the other hand seemed to get it immediately. John groaned and hid his face in River’s hair, while River’s grin got devilish. “Did you break the last pair I got you?” 

Right then Bill's brain kicked in and she screamed and fell face first into the space between River and Missy. She promptly screamed a bit more into the mattress.

“Look what you did!” John said and for a moment Bill thought he would actually stand with her on this. “You just broke our kid.” 

She just flipped him off and grinned into the mattress when all-around her laughter filled the room.


End file.
